This is a daily word game that's fun, simple, and takes about two to five minutes. You can play it on your phone, tablet, or computer. Everyone's word each day is the same, so no spoiling the word for anyone else.

My bit from today (yesterday I also got it on the fourth try):

Wordle 201 4/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛
⬛🟩⬛🟨⬛
⬛🟩⬛🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

As for strategy, I've thought about this a little bit.

• I think your first move should be to pick a word that has a lot of "likely" characters. RSTLNE was the standard from Wheel of Fortune, because they're in a lot of words, and you're almost hoping to eliminate them as much as you are to get them. You technically don't even have to make a word - you could type "RSTLE" or something (though I'd put the "E" in the middle, perhaps, as it's more likely to appear there).
• Regardless of the results of your first guess (unless you get a few greens or something), I currently lean toward trying five *brand new* common letters in your second guess. Between the two turns you'll have gotten or eliminated ten of the 26 characters, and you should have three to four yellows (even if two of them are vowels). If you go into round three knowing that your word has an "E" and an "I" and an "R" that is the fourth character, and doesn't contain S, T, L, N, C, P, and G… you might quickly arrive at "WEIRD" because the characters remaining aren't super popular.
• Once you get one green and two yellows, I like just picking through the remaining characters and trying to put the first letter in the first available space, and then trying out the remaining letters in other spaces. You'll know quickly whether "Q" is even possible, and some letters don't go near others like "SR" is rarely going to be there (or never?). You'll have to be flexible in this stage, because a last letter green is probably less valuable than a second or first letter in green.

Currently, the strategy I think I've settled on after playing twice and thinking about this for a little while is to "spend" the first two guesses trying to eliminate or lock in ten different characters, whether they're words or not. And then, using what you've got to sort of try out different combinations and arrangements, almost a brute force sequential ordering. Don't just pop in the first word you think of, try to still use the most characters. It'll not help on days like today where one character appeared twice, but most of the time, continuing to grey out or yellow/green up some characters will help you in the fourth or fifth round.

Most of the time you should win by the fourth or fifth with this strategy, I think.

What strategies do y'all have?

P.S. Maybe this is all bunk and I'll have changed strategies in a week. This is what I'm thinking now, though.

I saw Now You See Me the other day. It was disappointing. Too much suspension of disbelief, and nowhere near enough of the backstory to make you wonder WHY the four people would go along with the whole thing.

We'll enforce a grading scale of eagle, birdie, par, bogey, or double.

I give Now You See Me a bogey.

You're more than welcome to start a "clean golf jokes" thread, but this one asks you what your favorite dirty golf jokes are.

For about the last 20 years, I've used this: https://moneyclamp.com/collections/core/products/geneva-black-matte-rfid-wallet. Many of you have or had them, too: I gave them out at Newport Cups and some other things, I think.

Well, the metal fatigues and they break every 5-7 years or so. I had three from the TST order back nearly 20 years ago, but my last one broke yesterday.

In my wallet right now, I have about six credit or debit cards on one side (some personal, some business), things like my PGA card, health insurance card, etc. on the other side, and my driver's license and digital business card (NFC and QR code) in the middle, with anywhere between ten and whatever number of bills this shows (I thinned this out a bit after taking this photo, but admittedly I like paying for things in cash, particularly from small businesses or to tip):

I see, like many of you probably do, all those wallet ads on Instagram. Or Kickstarter. There are a lot of options out there.

So, for those of you who carry wallets and who still carry some cash… (TBH I'm more likely to drop some credit/debit cards from my wallet and just use them via Apple Pay than I am to not carry more than a few bills of cash) what wallet are y'all using? What's good?

I don't think I want one of those "all metal" wallets, but maybe that's just the updated version of what I have now, and maybe that's fine. I've seen the money clip type things that are magnetic, but… I feel like those might only work with about six bills of "thickness." Otherwise, it feels like it'd have to be a strong magnet, and I'm not sure I want a strong magnet on my wallet as I chuck it in my golf bag, a cart, near my phone, by credit cards or hotel door keys… etc.

So, again… what do y'all use? Or am I just really old and nobody uses wallets?

This prompted me to think of this poll.

Posted this in another thread. Lunch, 3 eggs and 5 slices of Turkey bacon.

and my first attempt at protein fluff. It was pretty good, texture is like a mousse

White Chili is fine. But if you are making it for a chili cook-off are you actually just conceding? 

We were discussing making Christmas Cookies and got on the topic of what is the best cookie. 

I personally think the Oatmeal Raisin is the best. My kids mocked me. "THAT'S AN OLD MAN COOKIE!" 

Seriously?

Does anyone besides me love the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie? 
And if not, what is the best cookie? 

Here's the site I was talking about and a sample from it:

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/all/

Dear girl who was making eyes at me today on the bus,

I saw you making eyes at me today on the bus. Thanks, it was a big boost to my self esteem while I was on my way to get a haircut. In fact, your amorous glances almost made me second-guess my intentions. In the end, however, I imagined that my post-haircut appearance would make for even more eyes in the future. Anyway, I've got a piece of business to take care of with you.

I am not a particularly outgoing individual when it comes to flirtation, but I do know when to take a hint. Eye-making is a big indicator that I should try to start a conversation. Here's the problem: you were listening to music. The tiny white iPod headphones that were filling your head with tunes also served as an iron curtain between you making eyes at me and me starting a conversation. Now, my first instinct was to guess that maybe you were not actually making eyes, but instead looking at me because I had a booger. Well, I will have you know that upon arriving at the haircutter's, I went into the bathroom to discover a boogerless under-nostril area. Furthermore, I could detect no glaring physical imperfections that would have caught your attention, especially from four seats away and across the aisle. This leads me to believe that you were, in fact, making eyes at me today on the bus.

So why, my friend, would you pursue making eyes at me today on the bus while still listening to your music. Are you also a shy flirter? If so, then I would say that we have something in common. In fact, we probably could have talked about how shy we are when it comes to flirting. But, as I have already stressed, conversation was impossible as you were listening to music. Maybe you were trying to idealize me to yourself. Maybe you thought that by speaking to me, you would shatter the perfect picture you had painted in your head. Well listen-I'm not perfect, but neither are you. I mean, can't two people just talk to each other and get to know each other and see where life takes them instead of being too afraid to pursue something for the fear that it might not work out?

I know what you were thinking. A house right? A house with a white picket fence, three kids, a dog and my green Prius in the driveway. Hey, that sounds great. It sounds safe, pleasant, and enjoyable. But I'm 25 years old, and I'm not ready to settle down yet. I've got dreams and plans, and I can't just throw them all away for you. Listen, we had a moment back there. But that is in the past now. Another time, another place, sure, maybe we can make things work. But right now? I need to be my own man. I need to travel, adventure and sow my wild oats. So I'm sorry, but things just aren't going to work out. Maybe next time you make eyes at me on the bus, you will do it free-eared. Then, and only then, we can see where life takes us.

Public transportationively yours,

Your future husband.
 

Milton is a fat kid with glasses who eats paste.

Legendary actor James Earl Jones dies at 93 - ABC News

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Legendary actor James Earl Jones, best known for voicing the character of Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" franchise, has died.

I knew him from the Hunt for the Red October, The Sandlot, and Field of Dreams before I knew he was the voice of Darth Vader. An amazing actor on the screen and on the stage. 

I have many examples of things that were amazing, but the craziest one was watching a fox maul a squirrel in my front yard.  I had to dispose the remains of the squirrel so I could mow my lawn.   I was shocked when I saw the video.

What interesting/crazy thing have you seen on your home camera?

So if you get tired of golf check out my youtube channel. www.youtube.com/@allenrez3230

Even though I'm starting this thread during the holidays, it can apply to whatever time of year in which someone posts to it. In early April, I might post "The Masters!"

But for now…

Peppermint ice cream.